


Somebody To Love

by FriendshipCastle



Series: Volleydorks [12]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alcohol, Anxiety, Asexuality, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Multi, Polyamory, T for swears, the reunion-at-Daichi's-boring-wedding that I never knew I needed to write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2014-12-19
Packaged: 2018-02-28 08:46:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2726072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendshipCastle/pseuds/FriendshipCastle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone is invited to Daichi's nuptials and, shockingly, they all RSVP "yes."  An excuse to make everyone have that "So what're you doing now that we've graduated?" talk with each other and give some volleydorks terrible tattoos.  </p>
<p>Title is the single greatest song that can ever be played at a wedding, in my humble opinion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tanaka Got Game

Asahi came home to dinner already on the table. That was pretty shocking.

The fact that Tanaka was sitting at the table and reading through Asahi’s latest entry in his poetry journal was less shocking.

“Noya?” Asahi called.

A flushing toilet was all the answer he needed.

“Hey, Asahi,” Tanaka said. He was trying to get noodles into his mouth without looking away from the page, and he was missing by such a wide margin. 

“No books at the table,” Asahi said automatically. Then he asked, a little shy, “Which one’s your favorite?”

“Uhhhh, I don’t know. I’m trying to find that one about how dating makes you feel, though. The really sweet one about safety and trust and shit. I wanna compare my own experiences.” Tanaka looked up, sauce smeared on half his grinning face, and he casually said the four words Asahi never though he’d hear: “I got a girlfriend.”

Asahi dropped his backpack and screamed.

Noya burst into the room, jeans still unzipped, sleeves rolled up as always to show off his tattoos, fists raised. “Who’s attacking you?!”

“Tanaka has a girlfriend,” Asahi whispered, burying his face in his hands. “I’m sorry, I overreacted.” 

"Oh." Noya dropped his hands to adjust his fly. "Good, no prowlers preying on my boyfriend.”

“Is it that unbelievable, that I’m dating someone?” Tanaka snapped.

Asahi’s fingers dug into his own hairline and he shook his head furiously. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Tanaka. I was just really excited—”

“I know, I was super pumped for him, too,” Noya said. “We went and got take-out to celebrate. Come out of hiding and eat up, okay?” Asahi allowed Noya to tug his hands away from his face. The gelled-and-dyed hair that had defined Noya’s high school and university years was drooping sadly after a full day of classes and an evening of what he and Tanaka called ‘studying’ and what Asahi more accurately saw as ‘cat video watching sprees.’ His smile was as bright and dangerous as ever, though. Asahi bent down to kiss Noya hello, but Tanaka abruptly cleared his throat. 

Asahi winced. “Oh, uh.”

Noya reached over and casually pushed Tanaka’s head against the table. “Go for it, babe.”

Still blushing hard, Asahi brushed their lips together.

“I’m eating,” Tanaka complained. His words were mashed against the cheap wooden tabletop.

Noya suddenly dove in, mashing his lips against Asahi’s and then pulling back with an audible SMACK.

“Aw, guys,” Tanaka groaned. “That’s embarrassing, you know it’s embarrassing. I can hear you, stop!”

Asahi wiped at the spit Noya had left behind on his mouth. “Sorry, Tanaka.”

“I’m not sorry,” Noya sang, letting go of Tanaka’s head.

“PDA is grosssss,” Tanaka hissed. “Me and my girl will never do shit like that.”

Noya patted his shoulder and adopted the air of a wise older man giving advice to a more inexperienced youth. “You say that now, but trust me, when you look over and suddenly you can’t stop thinking about how—”

“Do we get to meet her?” Asahi cut in.

“Yeah, I want you to prove she’s real,” Noya said, dropping his dignified posture. “And I want to see how cute she is. She better be deserving of someone as awesome as you, Tanaka.”

Tanaka smiled. It was a strange, wistful, fluffy kind of smile. “Yeah. She’s amazing. She’s way cooler than me, guys, you don’t even know. All the girls in our class think she’s the most handsome person.”

Asahi and Noya exchanged a look. It was a look of pure confusion. 

“I need to wash my hands,” Asahi said. “I repotted a lot of geraniums today. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll put a plate together for you,” Noya said. “Oh, wait, actually, we’re out of plates. We need to do dishes and Tanaka got the last one. Whatever, go wash up.” He turned back to Tanaka and said, “So, she’s good with the ladies but she picks a tough-looking guy like you?”

“Yeah,” Tanaka said, still smiling that goofy smile. “I don’t know why. Girls are way prettier than me. But she said she likes hanging out together, and she likes how soft my mowhawk is, and she likes that I’m almost as tall as her but not quite.”

Noya’s mouth was hanging open a little. “Wait. Dude. Are you dating _Kashima_?”

Tanaka’s grin got even wider. “Yes!”

“Ahhhhh! She’s way too cool for a dope like you!” Noya dove at Tanaka and noogied him furiously. “You lucky fucker!”

“I know, I know!” Tanaka said, his voice muffled by his friend.

“Um.” Asahi walked back over, smoothing down his hair with hands still wet from the bathroom. “Did I miss something?”

“Oh, babe, this guy’s going out with the smoothest operator known to man or woman,” Noya said. He passed Asahi a carton of fried rice and darted back around the table to dig into his noodles with gusto.

“Really?” Asahi said. He settled down at the end of the table, between Tanaka and Noya. “Is she training to be a paramedic, too?”

“Nah,” Tanaka said. “She’s a dispatcher. But she’s also an _actor_. That’s her true calling.”

“Good?” Asahi said. He glanced at Noya for confirmation. Noya nodded furiously, cheeks bulging with food.

“Oh, Kashima’s super fucking good at acting,” Tanaka said. “She has this _presence_. When she’s in the room, that’s all anyone sees. She knows just how to calm people down over the phones. And she’s so good at flirting! I was trying to flirt with her and she kept giving me tips that were super helpful. Like, did you know girls appreciate dick jokes? I told some really good ones and that’s what made her ask me out. And she said some good stuff about complimenting girls for more than just their looks. She knows how to talk to people, that’s for sure.”

“Um,” Asahi said. “So you’re not worried about her flirting with other people?”

Tanaka waved a hand, swatting away his concerns. “Man, I don’t care. We talk about pretty girls all the time. There’s a lot of lovely individuals out there to appreciate. I know she cares about me and I’m the only person she’s dating, that’s all that matters.”

Asahi smiled. “That’s wonderful, Tanaka.”

“Her parents are letting me sleep on her couch, too, so now I’m up to five different places I can stay!” He beamed at them happily.

Asahi and Noya exchanged a look again. This time it was one of concern.

“You know you’re welcome here any time,” Asahi said.

“Yeah, but you guys get up to stuff that I don’t wanna hear,” Tanaka said. He raised his hands quickly as Noya started glaring and said, “Nothing wrong with that, you guys have been basically married since high school, but I don’t wanna hear you fuckin’. And I don’t wanna hear my sister fuckin’, either, so I can’t live full time with any of you. And Suga’s place is even smaller than your guys’. And my parents’ house is… You know. It’s my parents’ house. And it’s all the way back in Miyagi. Way too far to commute.”

“You really need to find your own place, Ryuu,” Noya said.

“But I want to see you guys!” he protested. “I love living with all of my friends, and I get to!”

“You live out of a suitcase,” Asahi said gently.

Tanaka shrugged. “I have a whole bunch of fun roommates that I rotate through, I have no complaints.”

“All right,” Asahi said. “Well—”

Noya slapped Tanaka on the shoulder, face solemn. “I appreciate that you care enough about me to allow me a loud, enthusiastic sex life, Tanaka.”

“Noya!” Asahi wailed. “Don’t say things like that!”

“I should start writing a sex journal,” Noya mused, “just like how you have that dream journal, Asahi. And your worry journal, and your poetry journal, and the _dirty_ poetry journal—”

Asahi’s face turned a painful-looking red. “That doesn’t exist,” Asahi told a smirking Tanaka. “That last one, it’s not real. He’s making it up.” 

Noya just grinned and tugged the ends of his boyfriend’s hair. “Sure, babe. Whatever you say.” He shifted his attention to Tanaka. “You guys have your first smooch yet?”

Tanaka turned up his nose, though his flushed cheeks took some of the haughtiness away. “I don’t kiss and tell, dude.”

“Not even me?” Noya looked genuinely hurt.

Tanaka’s face twisted with indecision. Noya ramped up his sad puppy eyes. Asahi quietly snuck Noya’s noodles away from his elbow and started slurping them up, gaze flicking between the two men in their tense standoff.

“Shortstop,” Tanaka said finally, and Noya punched the air and gave a cry of triumph.

“What’s that?” Asahi asked.

“First-and-a-half base,” Noya said.

Asahi blinked.

“ _Tongue_ , babe,” Noya said. “Frenching.” He stuck his own tongue out for emphasis. The steel ball piercing it gleamed dully until he retracted it back into his mouth to say, “And give me back my noodles.”

Asahi winced. “I never understand your baseball metaphors. I’m glad you’ve found someone special, though, Tanaka.” He passed the nearly-empty carton back to his boyfriend.

“Yeah, just in time for Daichi’s fuckin' _wedding_ ,” Noya snorted.

“It is rather quick,” Asahi said. “I mean, I’m not passing judgement, but he’s barely out of college and then this?”

“It’s totally Daichi’s style, though,” Noya said. “Find perfection and marry it so he’s not living in sin like you and me, babe.” He grinned at Asahi before cramming the last strands of noodles into his mouth. 

Asahi ducked his head and quickly asked the table, “Isn’t Suga their wedding planner? He’s the one who asked me about bouquets.”

“Yeah, he’s got so many charts and collages and swatches right now,” Tanaka grumbled. “I slept under his mound of table cloth samples last time I was over. I’m avoiding sleeping at his place till the whole wedding is over.”

“Table cloth samples?” Noya said. “Is that a normal part of the wedding process?”

Tanaka shrugged.

“Every detail is going to be perfect if Suga has a say,” Asahi said with a smile. “He’ll keep everyone in line, too. Even Kageyama and Hinata. They haven’t calmed down completely, even after all this time, but Suga’s good at taking charge.”

“Did Daichi seriously invite our entire high-school volleyball team?” Noya said.

“Of course he did!” Tanaka said. 

“It’ll be good to catch up,” Asahi said. “Like a reunion!”

Noya and Tanaka both squinted at him in disbelief.

“I saw Hinata last week for lunch,” Noya reminded him.

“I live on Suga’s couch half the time,” Tanaka said. “And Daichi does my taxes because he says it relaxes him.”

“Kageyama sent you a birthday card three weeks late,” Noya said. “It’s on our fridge right now and it looks like a six-year-old made it.”

“I bumped into Yamaguchi two months ago when I was back in town to see my parents,” Tanaka said. “He talked about Tsukishima the whole time. Then I took him out dancing and he drunk-dialed Tsukishima and I ducked out before that tall, glasses-wearing asshole could see me.”

“You didn’t tell me about this, Ryuu!” Noya gasped, head whipping around. “What’s he like when he’s drunk? Is it precious?”

“But it’ll be the first time we’ve all been together in over five years!” Asahi pointed out desperately.

Noya and Tanaka agreed with him on that. There was a pause as they all tried to remember what people had gone on to do after high school. In that silent moment of reflection, Asahi started gathering up empty cartons, Tanaka’s dish, the napkins and hashi. Noya and Tanaka helped him move everything into the kitchen. Asahi added the single dish to the tidy pile in the sink. He and Noya owned five of every kind of flatware and utensil, and all of them were waiting to be washed. 

Noya gave the stack of dirty dishes a long, contemplative look. “It’ll be interesting,” he said, diplomatically voicing the growing concern all of them felt as they considered what it would be like to get everyone together in a situation that did _not_ involve volleyball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They’re in their twenties here. I’m thinking it’s been six years or so? Long enough for the first-years to be liquor-legal at least. Tanaka took a long time to find that Special Someone who was female and could also tolerate his weirdness. Yeah, I stole Kashima from _Gekkan Shojou Nozai-kun_ and I blame my anime bro because it was too perfect. We love Kashima so much.
> 
> “Shortstop” on the Baseball Diamond Metaphor Chart of Getting Some is not a thing. I played baseball for years; I have earned the right to mock that fucking metaphor. Don’t make it a thing.
> 
> Anime bro and I talked about this for exactly one second because neither of us cares about Daichi, but he is vanilla as hell and married right out of college because he’s that kind of guy. Suga isn’t dating anyone because I want him to date me but that’s just sad. He’s cool with being alone, he knows he's perfect.


	2. Flawless Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole chapter of Suga efficiently and effectively dealing with his horrible volleyball children.

Suga had a flawless seating chart for the reception. This was the first time he’d been trusted to handle such an arrangement on his own and he’d done a damn good job of it, if he said so himself. With a wedding where he knew all the people, he’d mapped it out perfectly so no one would be with people they couldn’t stand, and no one too energetic would be paired with an equally excitable person. He’d handwritten the little pasteboard placards and on some very particular, very special ones, he’d drawn volleyballs and crows. Then Noya called him up the day before the wedding.

“Sugaaaaa,” Noya sang.

“Hello, Noya,” Suga said, carefully readjusting one of his color-coded post-it notes so that it wouldn’t cover up an important phone number in his day planner.

“Have you heard the good news about Ryuu?”

Suga smiled faintly. “About his new girlfriend? He sent me a series of texts regarding it a week ago.”

“What?” Noya’s smug drawl fell apart into bald shock. “He told you before me?”

“He wanted to make sure she was at his table,” Suga said.

“And which table is that?” Noya demanded.

Suga laughed gently. “Oh, no no no no no.”

“What?” Noya said again, now exasperated.

“It’s _set_ , Noya.”

“So I’m not at the same table?”

“ _No_ ,” Suga said emphatically. “You’re with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, and Daichi’s friend from—”

Noya’s groan lasted much longer than Suga had anticipated. He was left feeling faintly impressed at his friend’s lung capacity.

“I’m sorry, Noya,” Suga said, allowing regret to enter his voice even though he was sure as shit not going to fuck up his careful plans for anyone at this point, not even _Daichi himself_ goddammit. “You’ll get to talk with her, though, I’m sure.”

“Yeah,” Noya sighed. “I guess. Have you met her, though? Cuz I have, and she’s legitimately the coolest person in the whole world. Like, I am so jealous of Ryuu right now, even though my boy is the bomb in every way and I don’t deserve him.”

Suga wondered where he was, that he felt all right saying that without fear that Asahi might overhear and get sad. He glanced over at the digital clock perched precariously in the hutch of his planning desk. “Are you skipping class right now?”

There was a telling pause before Noya said, “You aren’t my mom! Don’t tell Asahi!” and then he hung up. 

Suga chuckled about it for the rest of the day as he folded tablecloths and put together party favors and made a neat checklist of what had to be done early and what he could do tonight. Tsukishima had sent over a playlist last-minute (probably only after severe nagging from Yamaguchi) and Suga listened to it as he cooked and ate dinner. He found himself humming and nodding along to a lot of songs, so it would most likely be perfect as dance music.

Suga was following his passion by running a small wedding-planning business out of his apartment. He’d meet his clients for coffee somewhere and keep all of the necessary supplies, from flower arrangements to crockery to linens, in his tiny apartment. His bedroom was a rolled-out mattress on the floor that got rolled up every day so he could sit at his desk. Everywhere else was storage. From the kitchen to the bathroom to the ragged couch that was just barely Tanaka-sized, nowhere was safe when he had a wedding coming up. So far, it was paying for his lifestyle, and the stress of it all only made him more determined to do everything perfectly. Suga was having a wonderful time. 

He worked his way through the night-before to-do list, checking the final box when he sent off a good-luck-tomorrow text to Daichi right around the time Daichi would be going to bed (though this was exclusively as a friend, since it would be weird to get a “Good luck on the big day tomorrow! I’ll be watching everything so you just have fun, be happy, and enjoy /your/ day!” from an employee). Suga got a smile emoji in response. Showing Daichi emojis was probably something he should apologize to everyone in Daichi’s contacts. That man overused the hell out of them. Suga sighed, plugged his phone in, double-checked that everything was in place for tomorrow, unrolled his bed, and then fell asleep at 11:30pm, just like always.

He woke up to over thirty text messages when his alarm went off at 7:30am.

Yamaguchi:

> 11:45pm: Hi Sugawara, what’s the address again? Can’t wait to see you all! <3Y

Tanaka:

> 12:14am: Kashimas so xcited we’re both SO XSITD AHHHJHFFHHH  
>  12:56am: WER DRINKKINN 2DGETR  
>  1:23am: SHES SINGING KRRAKOKE SHESS BEUTIFL  
>  3:02am: ILOVE HR SO MUCKKKKK

Kageyama:

> 5:32am: hinata didnt sleep last night. he did our ab workout over and over while he watched late-night cartoons. he might be weirder than usual today. just a warning.  
>  5:48am: made him eat cereal but he says its the wrong kind. it isnt the wrong kind. should i be worried.  
>  5:51am: should i bring a volleyball.  
>  5:54am: hinata wont put on the suit you guys bought for this wedding. what do i do.  
>  6:00am: do we have time between wedding and reception to change into shorts.  
>  6:04am: hinatas throwing up and says he doesn’t want to come.  
>  6:16am: should i bring tennis shoes.  
>  6:20am: will we have time for a 3v3 volleyball match or 4v4.  
>  6:29am: hinatas crying but wont let me in the bathroom and he keeps saying he feels pressured. what do i do.  
>  6:30am: is this because marriage is an expected milestone in long-term relationships.  
>  6:41am: nvmnd kenma called and is talking to him. we’ll be there on time.  
>  6:58am: im leaving my knee pads at home is that okay.

Noya:

> 11:58pm: Suga  
>  11:58pm: R u awake  
>  11:59pm: Asahis sleeping rn so I cant call u but c  
>  12:00am: Can I trade yam&tsuk for tanak&kash plz plz plzs???  
>  12:02am: Jsut a little seating switch  
>  12:09am: Suga  
>  12:14am: Suga  
>  12:28am: Suga  
>  12:40am: Sga  
>  3:02am: Suga  
>  3:03am: I will litereally pay you  
>  3:03am: In food and flowers  
>  4:01am: Suag  
>  4:06am: Suga  
>  4:08am: Asahi has real nice roses this year he says  
>  4:13am: Well he said before he went to sleep  
>  4:44am: U could have roses suga  
>  5:12am: SUga  
>  5:58am: SUGA  
>  6:23am: DONT U LOVE ROSES  
>  6:43am: SGUA  
>  7:17am: SUGAAA

Daichi:

> 7:22am: Just letting you know that I’m up on time! I know you were worried about that but it’s all fine. See you at the church!

 

Another text popped up from Noya. It was Suga’s name again, now with exclamation points added to the end of it. Suga rolled his eyes and deleted it. He sent smiley faces to Daichi and Tanaka, directions to Yamaguchi, and “I’ll keep an eye on Hinata, don’t worry” to Kageyama. He’d already packed an extra packet of tissues for Hinata, but now he dragged out an entire box. If the boy was already stressed, being prepared for waterworks was a must. 

He loaded up his little car with the reception supplies until there was only enough space for him in the driver’s seat. He’d set everything up at the venue, then dash over to the actual wedding at noon. Asahi was in charge of getting Daichi there on-time and in presentable condition. Afterwards, there was time to get lunch and get changed. Suga, however, would dash back to the venue at 2pm to help the caterers and bartender get into place and prepare for a 6:30 dinner reception. Suga really hoped that everyone could come to the real party. He’d rented the space until midnight with the quiet hope that it would give everyone enough time to thoroughly exhaust themselves. It meant Suga was going to have to nap under a buffet table, of course, but this was Daichi’s _wedding_. It was worth it to bring everyone together for a great time. Kurasuno was a team of energetic, enthusiastic people. They would celebrate Daichi’s special day in style. 

This wasn’t going to be the worst wedding he’d ever worked on—he knew everyone who would be there and he could definitely threaten them without worrying about losing money on the job—but Suga knew it was going to be interesting. All the Kurasuno boys in one place again? Suga found himself grinning at the thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of these dorks show up next chapter, never fear. It's gonna be limited perspective from here on out I think, just because it's fun to get inside one character's head and see what they're thinking about everyone else.


	3. Wedding Jitters

“Who wants to play a quick game?” Kageyama asked the minute the newlyweds’ car pulled away from the curb. “I brought a ball.”

“What?” said one of Daichi’s aunts, glancing over. Hinata imagined what her first impression was; the grim-faced man who had sat with all her nephew’s loud, rambunctious school friends. He could kind of understand her bewilderment. In a somber navy-blue suit, Kageyama didn’t look like the kind of guy to propose playing a game right after a wedding.

The collective groan from everyone who had played volleyball with Kageyama effectively drowned her out, though. Tsukishima walked away without even answering the question. Yamaguchi called a quick, “Sorry! We’ll see you tonight!” as he jogged after him.

That left the rest of Karasuno’s old volleyball team to turn Kageyama down. Hinata kept quiet

“I didn’t sleep last night!” Noya said. “No way I’m playing volleyball right now!”

“I barely made it here on time,” Tanaka broke in. “My alarm went off three times before I dragged my ass out of bed.” He wrapped an arm around his date’s waist and added, “I was out partying late with my badass girlfriend, Kashima!”

Hinata blinked up at Kashima. So she was a girlfriend. No one had gotten a chance to meet her, since she and Tanaka had snuck in the back right before the whole wedding kicked off. She looked better in a suit than anyone else there, her short hair mussed and effortlessly sleek as she stood a head taller than her boyfriend in spiky stilettos Hinata could not stop staring at.

“Ah, Ryuu,” Kashima giggled. She swatted at his mowhawk. “That was barely a party. You’re such a lightweight!”

“You are!” he said

“No, _you_ ,” she said, “I’ll prove it!” and then they both tried to pick the other one up but collapsed into giggles before either could gain leverage. It was funny to see them grappling; Tanaka’s red plaid pants and black suit jacket grew steadily more rumpled as Kashima tugged on him, while Kashima’s dark green suit seemed to slip right out of Tanaka’s hands when he tried to grab hold of her. 

“You guys go at it, I’m going to nap at the hotel,” Noya said, scrubbing at his face with one hand while he yanked the knot out of his paisley tie with the other. “C’mon, Asahi. You can carry me.”

“Um, no,” Asahi said. He was holding a wad of tissues that was almost too big to fit in his hands. He caught Hinata looking at all those curled-up tear-catchers and hunched his shoulders self-consciously, tucking the lump behind him a little and blushing.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hinata told him. “Suga gave me a whole box to myself and I still had to borrow from Yamaguchi.” He’d already popped a couple Advil to get rid of the crying headache.

He felt Kageyama take a step closer to him at that, hovering a little bit nearer by. It was strange, to be aware of when someone wasn’t touching him. It was super different from the times he hung out with Kenma, because they were handsy and casual while Kageyama was restrained and tense and awkwardly aloof. It meant the same thing, though. Someone wanted to be close to him, either his Kenmafriend or his boyfriend. At any other time, he’d have appreciated it.

“See you guys later,” Noya said. “Whether or not I get a piggy-back from my man.”

Asahi bobbed his head at the rest of them. “See you at the reception?”

“Yep!” Hinata said, mustering a smile.

“We’re taking off, too,” Tanaka said. “I owe this lady some pancakes.”

“So many pancakes,” Kashima said solemnly. She grinned at Kageyama, who was a few centimeters shorter than her thanks to her footwear. “See you, game guy!” She looked at Hinata and added, “See you, cute guy!”

Hinata felt himself blushing. Compliments from girls were still something strange, magical, and treasured. “Oh, uh, Yeah! Bye! Enjoy your pancakes!”

She winked at him. He forgot how to breathe for a moment.

“That’s Hinata and Kageyama,” he overheard Tanaka explain as the two of them walked away. “They’ve been dating for a while. I think a couple years? They just moved in together.”

“The tall one’s ripped as hell,” Kashima said, and then they were too far away to hear.

It shouldn’t be weird to be left alone with his boyfriend, but it was. In this moment, after all Hinata’s painful sobbing before and during the ceremony, it was weird. At least he was cried out now. All he felt was drained.

“Go back to Kenma’s so you can sleep, you insomniac idiot,” Kageyama said after a long silence.

“Are you gonna follow me and make sure I get there?” Hinata grumbled sarcastically.

Kageyama’s face shifted from generically grumpy to worried. “Do I need to? Should I?”

Instead of answering, Hinata said, “What’ll you do for four hours?” He knew he was being unfair. He’d been on the verge of a meltdown for the past week and now, after an early-morning panic attack, he was pulling a Kageyama and refusing to talk honestly about his feelings.

“I don’t know,” Kageyama said. “I can. Uh. I don’t know.”

Hinata took a deep breath, feeling his chest expand and his pulse slow down. He concentrated on sucking air into the farthest reaches of his lungs, then he let it all out in a wooshing sigh. “Let’s get lunch.”

“But you should nap,” Kageyama said.

“I’ll be okay for an hour, jeez,” Hinata said.

Kageyama shrugged and followed him to a little cafe around the corner. They waited in line in silence, ordered four of the cheapest thing on the menu (their appetites hadn’t slowed down but their bank accounts weren’t growing much), and sat down across from each other, tucked in the furthest corner by the bathrooms since everything else was taken. Kageyama glared at the round plastic table as if it had personally pissed on his shoes. Hinata built a tiny house out of coffee stirrers.

“Can you tell me what happened this morning?” Kageyama said abruptly.

The little coffee stirrer house jittered apart. “Um,” Hinata said.

“This isn’t right before a match,” Kageyama said. “It’s not a public speaking engagement. We know a ton of people. Noya and Tanaka are here, you like those guys. Kenma’s here, even though they’re working catering. Suga’s here. Why’d you get so nervous?”

Hinata tried making a new coffee stirrer house. It was hard to breathe right now, though. Hard to lift his hands and hold them steady.

“Are you panicking again?” Kageyama said. “Shit. Did I do that?”

“Yeah,” Hinata said.

Kageyama sounded mad. “How’d I do it? What did I say that was wrong?”

“Nothing,” Hinata said, because he was pretty sure that Kageyama was mad at himself, not Hinata. “I’m just, um. I’m not feeling good.”

“About what?” Kageyama said, because he was getting better at diagnosing when the phrase "I don’t feel good" was applied to emotions versus actual illness. Hinata tended to overlap the two, but after dealing with him for six years, Kageyama could usually figure out which was which.

Hinata picked at a paper napkin. He was unsure how to start this conversation. Could he just say that he hated to see things change? He hated the slow dissolution of the team he’d loved, even though that separation hadn’t been as bad as he’d thought it would be. He hated both the idea that he was going to have to make major life choices, and the knowledge that if things stayed the same there would be no point to his life. This was a big topic to tackle and Hinata wasn’t sure he understood himself enough to describe it.

“Is it because marriage is a relationship milestone?” Kageyama asked.

Hinata looked up at that. “What the fuck?” He stared into Kageyama’s nervous glare (there were so many subtle kinds of glare that Kageyama delivered, Hinata should write a manuel for this guy). Then it clicked. “You think I’m gonna propose?”

Kageyama’s mouth twisted. “I don’t know. I’m just guessing.”

“We’ve never talked about marriage, Kageyama,” Hinata said. “I don’t want to get married soon or anything. Holy shit, is that what you thought?”

“I don’t know!” Kageyama snapped again. He was blushing and pissed off and his knuckles were white on the edge of the table and god, Hinata loved him. He was always trying to understand what was going on, but he was working from an oddly distant point of view. Like he was from another planet or something, come to Earth to figure out how to interact with people. Human customs were still a mystery to him. It was heartbreakingly adorable.

“Kageyama,” Hinata said, and then he amended it to, “Tobio.”

Kageyama jerked back in his seat. His posture was stiff and wary. “What.”

“I’m not gonna spring relationship shit on you out of nowhere,” Hinata said. “I promise.”

“You did when you asked me out,” Kageyama said. “That was out of nowhere.”

“Well, okay, but I was trying to send signals for like a month first. I forgot you don’t understand signals unless they’re in a volleyball handbook.”

Kageyama flipped him off just as their food arrived. Their waiter raised his eyebrows but didn’t comment, just set all four plates down and said, “Enjoy” before moving on.

Kageyama was still blushing as he hissed, “Goddammit, Hinata, you stressed me the fuck out.”

“Sorry,” Hinata said with a shrug. He tugged his first sandwich closer to himself and dug in.

Kageyama picked up his sandwich but didn’t take a bite. Instead, he looked at the ham and cheese thoughtfully. “If it wasn’t a proposal, what was it that made you so nervous?”

Hinata swallowed his bite before he answered. “Major changes make me throw up sometimes. Like, life changes when things are already going super well.”

“Does it happen a lot?”

Hinata shrugged. “I dunno. Last major change I went through was playing volleyball with you.”

Kageyama’s eyebrows raised out of a glare and into an expression of bewilderment. “Did I make you throw up?”

Hinata opened his mouth to make an asshole comment, then paused. He remembered the first time he’d ever talked to Kageyama Tobio, back when they were just entering their last year of middle school. Hinata had been about to go either throw up or shit violently—he could never be sure which—right before the first official match he’d ever managed to weasel his way into. And then some guys had made comments about his team, pissed him off even though his stomach was in agony, and he’d tried to lay into them but before he could get a decent diatribe going, Kageyama had shown up. He’d been mean to them and mean to Hinata but suddenly Hinata’s stomach wasn’t trying to kill him anymore. Kageyama was a point of focus. Beating that complete dick of a setter (with a face that looked like someone had dropped a textbook on his foot) and moving on to the next round of volleyball matches was now the only thing in the world that mattered. 

“You don’t make me throw up,” Hinata said. “Ever.”

The corner of Kageyama’s mouth twitched. It was the largest smile that he typically allowed himself because it looked the least terrifying. “Good.”

“But the team’s all broken apart!” Hinata continued. He waved his sandwich to emphasize his point. “Daichi’s married now, Suga works on weddings, Noya and Tanaka are training to be paramedics and Tanaka has a girlfriend, Asahi’s a gardener or whatever, Yamaguchi’s still at the university, who even knows what Tsukishima does—you and me are the only ones still playing volleyball! It’s all in pieces, yanno? And Daichi getting married kind of shows that even more.”

Kageyama was glaring but that was nothing new; this looked like a thinking glare. “It’s been years, though. You just wish high school had gone on forever?”

Hinata took a bite of his sandwich to avoid answering. Kageyama took a bite as well. They finished a sandwich each, the silence sitting between them. Kageyama finished his sandwich first and started on the next one. 

Hinata licked mustard off his fingers and said, “I kinda wish it had gone on forever.”

“It was fun,” Kageyama admitted. “Sometimes. When Tsukishima wasn’t around. But this is good too.”

Hinata shrugged.

“No,” Kageyama said. “It is good. We’re still playing volleyball together, right? That hasn’t changed since high school.”

Hinata had to grin. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Still fighting a bunch,” Kageyama continued. “Pushing each other, working together, all that.”

“Are you coming on to me?” Hinata teased.

Kageyama flipped him off again. “I’m serious.”

“Yeah, I know,” Hinata said. “You’re right. You’ve stuck around.”

Kageyama nodded smugly and bit into his sandwich.

“You gotta dance with me at this thing, though, got it?” Hinata added. “Kenma’s working so I can’t make them but you better. Or else I’ll throw a huge fit and puke all over our table, got it? Silence means yes!”

Kageyama rolled his eyes but couldn’t complain around a mouthful of food.

“Silence means I win!” Hinata cried, punching the air. 

Kageyama swallowed and said, “Whatever it takes to get you to calm down and shut up. You’re still taking a nap after lunch, I hope you know.”

Hinata smiled and ate more of his sandwich. He kicked at Kageyama’s ankle under the table as he chewed. There was a brief, silent foot war that ended when Kageyama’s freakishly huge, pointy black dress shoes clamped down on Hinata’s battered sneakers, effectively trapping him. 

“I win,” Kageyama said. Hinata just smiled wider, took another bite, tapped a beat on the table and hummed “Here Comes The Bride” under his breath.

“Did you tell Kenma this stuff?” Kageyama asked suddenly. “This morning, when they called our place. Or any time, really. About change and all that.”

Hinata considered. “No,” he said. “I don’t think so. We don’t really talk about that kind of thing.”

“What do you two talk about?” Kageyama asked. 

“Games,” Hinata said. “Our lives, a bit. Not much, they’re not a big talker. It’s kinda nice.”

“Why?”

“They aren’t the kind of person who goes through huge changes, you know?”

“Yeah,” Kageyama said. “I see that. So how did they get you to calm down earlier, if they didn’t make you explain all this anxiety?”

“They reminded me that Suga would kick my ass if we didn’t make it to the wedding,” Hinata said. “And they said we better make it to their apartment at least because they missed me. Oh, uh, they missed you too—”

“No, they didn’t. It’s fine. It’s your business. I’m the boyfriend, Kenma’s something like that, but we’re not anything much to each other.”

Hinata sighed. “Yeah, you’re too similar to get along.”

Kageyama stiffened at that. “We get along fine! We’re just not in love or whatever! How are we similar? What the fuck’re you trying to say?”

Hinata crammed the last bit of his last sandwich into his mouth and blinked at Kageyama innocently. “Hmmrrph?”

With an inarticulate growl, Kageyama dragged Hinata up by the arm. “Okay, you’re being a dick. Naptime.”

The mouthful of sandwich blocked any complaints he could make, so Hinata settled for making furious sounds as he was forced out of the cafe. The fact that he was giggling in between each complaint-noise probably undermined the whole endeavor, but Kageyama’s mouth was twitching and he had to cough every now and then to disguise the fact that this whole performance was giving him the giggles. It was so worth it. Hinata kept it up shamelessly until the sandwich was a soggy paste in his mouth and they were at the front steps to Kenma’s apartment.

“You have the keys,” Kageyama said.

Hinata finally swallowed the last of his sandwich. He fished in his pants pocket, then his jacket pocket, until Kageyama rolled his eyes, turned him around, and pulled the key to Kenma’s building out of Hinata’s back pocket.

Hinata gasped as if he was scandalized. “That’s _my_ butt, Kageyama! You can’t just touch it whenever you want!”

“You get so weird when you’re tired, Hinata.”

“You love it,” Hinata said, trying to scramble onto Kageyama’s back. “Carry me, all these stairs are annoying.”

“You’re annoying.” But Kageyama crouched a little so Hinata could actually climb up, and then he took them both up all four flights of stairs to Kenma’s little box of an apartment. 

“What’ll you do for three hours?” Hinata whispered loudly into Kageyama’s ear as he bobbed on Kageyama’s back.

“I’m napping too,” Kageyama said, and Hinata blinked.

Hinata was only allowed to sleep in the same bed as Kageyama on special occasions. “It’s like you’re in a bike race for eight fucking hours” was the reason Kageyama had given. Now they only shared a bed when their heat went out or Hinata whined enough. The settling-down noises, falling asleep on a pillow with someone else’s smell, waking up warm and cozy with another person (whom Hinata had usually drooled on at least twice in the night)… It was perfect. He’d wake up laying across Kageyama’s stomach, an elbow in Kageyama's bladder, with his head trapped in Kageyama’s shirt, though, and then he’d be banned again.

Kenma didn’t care if Hinata was a twitchy sleeper. They slept deeply and usually got too warm at night, so they’d sleep on top of the blankets. This meant they had extra padding whenever Hinata got kick-y. Hinata really liked visiting Kenma. Sharing a bed was cozy and he loved it more than anything.

Tonight was going to be extra cozy; all three of them would have to fit in Kenma’s bed because they didn’t have a guest futon. The lack of space was the reason why Kageyama had insisted that they wait until early this morning to come into town. Right now, though, Hinata was starting to get excited to nap. The last time he’d gotten Kageyama to share bedspace had been for his birthday, after an hour-long pleading session.

“You’re on the couch,” Kageyama said as he unlocked Kenma’s door, and Hinata’s hands clenched on the shoulders of Kageyama’s jacket. He took a deep breath to start complaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You gotta picture Tanaka as a Hot Topic punk. Like 80s anarchist, skinny plaid jeans with chains and zippers up the cuffs, all under a nice black suit jacket. It’s very important to me. The only reason Noya isn’t dressed the same way is because Asahi is really good at persuading Noya to dress like a tiny businessman.
> 
> Quick personal headcanon thing here, Kags and Hinata almost never fuck. After that initial “What is sex, let’s figure it out” they were like “Oh. Okay, that was fine.” and now they don’t care. Which isn’t really asexuality but it’s something on that spectrum. I dunno how to work that in but yeah.


	4. Tattoo Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talk about tattoos (nothing graphic) among nerds and Karasuno's resident asshole.

Tsukishima glared at his wine glass, willing it to fill itself up.

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi whispered next to him.

“I’m going to have _words_ with Suga after this,” Tsukishima hissed.

“At least it’s a nice wedding?” Yamaguchi offered with a wince.

Tsukishima turned to stare at him. He opened his mouth to start in on the lecture he’d been preparing in his head on why this was, in fact, a _terrible_ wedding, but before he could do that, a piece of tofu hit him on the cheek.

“Point for me!” Noya sang, loading up his spoon again. He was holding it like it was a catapult. Asahi watched helplessly, hands folded politely on his lap, and Noya lined up his next shot. The jacket of Noya’s suit was long gone and he’d rolled his sleeves up almost to his armpits to show off the truly atrocious flames that spiralled up his arms. His tongue was sticking out of the corner of his mouth, the silver barbell in it barely visible behind the curve of his lip.

“Nishinoya,” Tsukishima said, “what the fuck did you do to yourself?”

Noya lowered the spoon. “What?”

“Did you draw those tattoos on with a Magic Marker? Or did Azumane do them for you?”

Asahi jerked in his seat, looking terrified. “Uh!”

Noya’s eyes narrowed. “These are all legit tats, asshole.”

“The left arm is better executed than the right,” Tsukishima observed. “Are you having someone competent correct the mistakes?”

Noya’s expression turned ugly but he didn’t say anything, which meant Tsukishima was right. 

“It’s going to take a _lot_ of work,” Tsukishima said, injecting as much condescension into the words as he could. “I hope it isn’t too painful for you. Or too expensive.”

“Oh, fuck off!” Noya exploded. “What the fuck would you know about tattoos, anyway?”

With some care, Tsukishima shrugged off his jacket, unbuttoned his left cuff, and rolled his sleeve up. He worked at a leisurely pace, making sure each fold was precise before moving upwards. By the time he’d reached his mid-bicep, Noya’s eyes were wide and Asahi looked nauseous. The two people at their table who weren’t from Karasuno—a childhood friend of Daichi’s named Ikejiri something-or-other and a cousin whose name Tsukishima had ignored altogether—both looked up from their food for the first time all meal. They all gazed at the tight, geometric glory that covered Tsukishima from mid-forearm all the way to where his sleeve hid his shoulder from view.

“Shit,” Noya breathed. He didn’t look angry anymore; he just looked impressed. Tsukishima was always a little surprised and a little annoyed with how quickly Noya could shift gears, from rage to honest appreciation.

“Tsukki’s getting tessellations done by the best geometric artist in the prefecture,” Yamaguchi said happily. “It’s _beautiful_.”

“It is,” Noya said, nodding approvingly. “Nice job, kiddo.”

Tsukishima stiffened at the diminutive. “Better than that bad rash on your arms, that’s for sure.”

Noya reached for his catapult spoon but found that Asahi had innocently appropriated it and was keeping it in the had furthest from Noya, so Noya settled for hissing, “You fucking asshole.”

“Did you get those just to prove you’re a badass?” Tsukishima asked. “Is that why you have that tongue piercing, too?”

Unexpectedly, Noya grinned at that. He glanced at Asahi and winked, which was apparently enough to make Asahi choke on the water he was drinking, blush an ugly shade of purple, and try to hide himself inside the neck of his dress shirt.

“Oh,” Yamaguchi said. He turned a gentle pink behind his freckles and leaned over to Tsukishima. “It’s a sex thing, I think,” he whispered.

Tsukishima winced. “Gross. I don’t want to know details.”

“Oh, whatever,” Noya said, waving a hand contemptuously. “Don’t judge.”

“So are you and Tsukki the only ones with tattoos, then?” Yamaguchi asked quickly. “No one said anything to me about getting tattoos…”

“Tanaka’s got some ink,” Noya said. “It’s on his legs, so you can’t see it. He’s doing it the _traditional_ way, though. Six iron needles, no guns.”

Yamaguchi made a whining noise. Asahi nodded at him in agreement and sympathy, his own face a mask of misery. He’d probably heard the story in even greater detail.

“How the fuck does he afford that kind of work with a paramedic’s salary?” Tsukishima asked. He’d misspent some serious scholarship money to get his work done; he knew how expensive a good tattoo was.

“He’s homeless,” Noya explained.

“Nishinoya!” Asahi snapped. “He’s not homeless. He just lives with five different people.”

“Couch-surfing,” Noya said, nodding. “Kinda the same.”

“That sounds stressful,” Yamaguchi said. He glanced away and Tsukishima followed his gaze to where Tanaka and his tall boyfriend in the stilettos were telling Hinata something hilarious. Kageyama was frowning at all of them, of course. The one outsider at their table looked like she wanted to be a whole lot closer to Tanaka’s boyfriend.

“He says he gets to live with everyone he cares about,” Asahi said. “I don’t really get it either, but he likes it for now. But he and Kashima look like they’re getting along well, so perhaps they’ll find a place together.”

“Kashima?” Yamaguchi said.

“His new _girlfriend_ ,” Noya said, sounding as proud as if he was dating her himself.

Tsukishima looked over at the other table again and squinted. Tanaka’s date looked like a very pretty man but Nishinoya would know better than Tsukishima, after all. Tsukishima wondered if the girl currently scootching her chair closer to Kashima knew that Kashima was a woman.

“And Suga’s got ink, too,” Noya finished. 

“Suga does?” Yamaguchi asked, amazed.

Noya picked up his beer and downed it neatly, then waved for another. As if he’d been waiting this entire time, the bartender padded over with a full glass that looked exactly like what Noya had been drinking, put it down, and left without a word. His hair, bleached from his ears down, was pulled back in a nice fishtail braid. The bartender looked frustratingly familiar but Tsukishima couldn’t quite place him. He refocused on the conversation about Suga’s tattoo.

“Yep,” Noya was saying. “On his ribs. Asahi went with him to ensure stamen accuracy or whatever. Passed out a half hour in, didn’t you, babe?”

Asahi gave their table an embarrassed smile. “It was a scary noise and there was blood.”

“Suga brought him home without even getting it fully shaded the first time, so he just had the outline of an orchid for a month,” Noya said. “It looked stupid as fuck.”

“It looks lovely now,” Asahi said quickly. “It’s all healed and colored in and absolutely beautiful.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Noya said. He took Asahi’s hand in his own and wove their fingers together. “But it all proves I’m dating a wiener.”

Asahi frowned at that. “Noya and Tanaka also have friendship tattoos,” he told Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.

Now that was interesting news. “Really?” Tsukishima said. He let one of his trademark smirks play at the corners of his mouth. “How sweet.”

Noya tried to yank his hand away, whining about that being a _secret_ and between _best friends_ and _none of your guys’ business!_ but Asahi didn’t let go of him. “They tried to get me in on it,” Asahi continued, smiling a little self-consciously. “I, ah. I reminded them about Suga’s tattoo experience, though, and I got a pass.”

“What are they?” Tsukishima said. He propped his chin on his hand and watched Noya give up on escaping his boyfriend’s death grip. “ _Where_ are they?”

“It’s a cloud with lightning coming out of it, okay?” Noya snapped. “And it’s badass!”

“Is it _on_ your ass?” Tsukishima said, and then it clicked and he found himself actually snorting with laughter. He felt the glottis in the back of his throat rippling and for a moment he wondered if he was going to spray mucus across the table. Yamaguchi stared at him in shock at such an undignified noise, but Tsukishima howled, “Rolling Thunder?” and that made Yamaguchi lose it too. Asahi chuckled softly. Ikejiri and the other outsider just hunched over their food a little more carefully, keeping their heads down. This wasn’t their conversation and they knew it.

Noya shrugged and grinned. “Hey, man, don’t hate.”

“I am so frustrated that you don’t blush easily,” Asahi said, staring at his boyfriend. “You don’t even understand how aggravating it is, seeing you _not_ be embarrassed.”

“You’re embarrassed enough for the both of us, babe.”

Asahi finally released Noya’s fingers and went back to his food with a huff. “Uncalled for, Nishinoya.”

Noya tweaked his earlobe, then left him alone. He turned back and asked, “Yamaguchi got ink or nah?”

Yamaguchi shook his head quickly. “Uh! I don’t have anything I need to—”

“Ain’t always about _need_ , kiddo, it’s about _want_. You can have whatever art you want!”

“But I don’t want anything badly enough to make it permanent,” Yamaguchi said.

Noya shrugged. “Whatever. There’s plenty of time to get tats. You got your whole life ahead of you. I’m sure you got plenty of bad choices waiting for you in the future. What’re you getting a degree in?”

The conversation turned to current jobs and training and career aspirations, which was predictable. Not worth Tsuishima’s time. He concentrated on eating instead. Above the talk and clinking cutlery, he could hear the songs he’d given Suga to play during the conversational portion of the reception. There was a nice mix of instrumental music and softer singing that didn’t detract from conversations, but could fill up awkward silences. He was becoming an expert on background-noise playlists. The music shop where he worked was soul-sucking and corporate and all that, but on the days that he opened he was in charge of music and took full advantage of that privilege since they were getting his musical genius for minimum wage. Tsukishima tapped his foot along with the song that was currently playing, humming the refrain when it came around.

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi murmured in his ear.

Tsukishima jerked away for a moment until he realized who it was. “What?”

“Want to dance?”

Tsukishima didn’t even bother looking at him. “I need to get way drunker first.” Or rather, he needed plausible deniability so he could maintain his persona of aloof, dignified asshole and not the kind of guy who would dance with his boyfriend just because he wanted to, and drinking with the full knowledge that it took a lot to get him drunk would help him maintain that plausible deniability.

A hand reached across his vision and Tsukishima jerked the other way. The sharp-eyed bartender was pouring him more wine, eyes politely lowered. Once the glass was full he nodded and stepped away, circling around the table to fill up any glasses that needed it.

“Maybe this isn’t such a bad wedding,” Tsukishima said to Yamaguchi, who smiled at him brightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, my dad got poison oak and then he was allergic to the steroids they prescribed him to get rid of the poison oak and he ended up with a rash that looked like swirly red clouds from Chinese paintings. I kind of imagine Noya’s shitty tattoos look similar to that particular rash. He’s getting them fixed by a better tattoo artist, though.
> 
> Asahi uses Noya’s full name when Noya’s being a dick.
> 
> Tsukki misgenders two people and is only corrected once, just to be clear. Also, Kenma sighting!
> 
> Hey, so I didn’t research traditional Japanese weddings. At all. This is a Western wedding because I know how those work. I dunno what would be done differently in Japan, or in a different order, or left out altogether. I feel like I should be up front about this fuck-up/laziness on my part.


	5. First Dance

Somehow, Kageyama was still talking about volleyball. It was amazing. He was rattling off facts and plays and practice techniques without stopping to breathe. Hinata was cramming as much food into his face as possible, so he wasn’t any help at getting his boyfriend to shut up. And _Kashima_ , that traitor, had her listening face on and was probably asleep with her eyes open. She had so many wonderful talents. She was using this one for evil right now, though. The other girl at the table was watching Kashima watch Kageyama.

Tanaka glanced around to see if anyone else was suffering. Suga was sitting with Shimizu (it still made his heart jump a little to see her, even after all this time and with the greatest girlfriend in the whole fuckin’ world sitting right next to him) and they were laughing with that girl who’d been captain of Karasuno’s girl’s volleyball team. Of course Suga handpicked the best table for himself. 

When Tanaka saw where Noya and Asahi had been seated, though, he had to cover his face with his hands and laugh. Asahi was bright red, Noya was gesticulating like crazy, and Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were staring at both of them with twin expressions of smirking contempt. It was like looking back at Tanaka’s entire high school career, condensed into a single moment.

“Ryuu?” Kashima was raising an eyebrow at him. Kageyama was glaring, which was not unusual. Hinata was now stealing food off of Kageyama’s plate. And the other girl at the table was giving him a dirty look.

“Muh?” he said. He cleared his throat. “Uh, yes! Yes.”

“No one asked you a question,” Kageyama said. 

“I was watching that glasses asshole over there,” Tanaka said. He pointed at Tsukishima’s table to divert attention from himself.

“Why?” Kageyama said, lip curling with disgust.

“He’s parked at a table with Noya,” Tanaka said. “The only way it’d be funnier is if Hinata was there.”

Hinata’s head jerked up from his plate and he grunted in confusion.

Kageyama rolled his eyes. “Keep eating, dumbass. We’re not talking _to_ you, just _about_ you.”

“How long have you two been going out?” Kashima asked Kageyama with a smile.

“Three years,” Kageyama said. “Ish.”

“Ishhhhh?” Kashima pouted her lips around the hiss and drew it out into a question that demanded greater detail.

“We don’t keep track,” Kageyama said flatly.

“Because you suck,” Hinata added, his mouth clear of food for the moment. “Kageyama sucks hardcore at remembering dates and stuff.”

Kageyama’s glare grew more pronounced but he didn’t say anything to defend himself. 

“That’s not so bad,” Kashima said to him. “You could just pick days that are special. Our Tuesdays are special because we both hate Tuesdays.” She grinned at Tanaka.

He smiled back at her, remembering movie nights and thrift store runs and evenings when they were only allowed to draw pictures to communicate with each other. “Yeah, Tuesdays are pretty awesome now.”

“I guess,” Kageyama said. He sat back in his chair. His plate had been cleared by Hinata and so he just frowned at the stray bits of noodles and vegetables. Apparently, it was Hinata’s turn to tap in on conversational topics, which he did with gusto.

“So how about you guys?” Hinata said. His fingers were digging into the tablecloth with excitement. “How’d you meet? Why’d you go out with him, Kashima? Is it because he’s amazing or did he just ask you a lot until you said yes? How tall are you? Have you ever played sports? Is green your favorite color, is that why you picked it for your suit? Where’d you get your shoes? Do they hurt to walk in?”

“Slow down!” Kashima laughed. “We met cuz I’m dispatch and he’s a paramedic and we passed each other in the hallway. He yelled something about how I was beautiful and I told him to do better next time. And then the next time I saw him, he pulled out a notebook and rhymed hair with flair and I told him he could still do better, but that I’d have to explain it to him slowly. Over coffee. And then later I told him we’d been dating for a while, which shocked him because he hadn’t realized it yet.”

Hinata’s mouth was hanging open. “That’s so cool, Kashima!”

She grinned at him. “Ah, it’s sweet of you to say so. You’re a good guy.”

Hinata flushed. “Uhh, uh, oh. Thanks. Um.”

Kageyama elbowed him, glowering.

“Your other questions…. Oh! I played some sports, but not a ton,” Kashima continued. “I act, mostly.”

Hinata actually stood up at that, hands pressed to the table to give himself a little more height. “What, really? That’s amazing! What kind of acting? What’s your favorite—”

“Shut up,” Kageyama said. He dragged Hinata down by the sleeve of his brown plaid suit and pressed a hand on top of his head to keep him seated. “Let her talk.”

Kashima blinked at them, eyebrows raised. “Uhhh, I don’t know, it’s not a huge story. I just do some community theater stuff in my spare time. I do men’s roles because I’m so tall. I like it.”

“You are so tall,” Hinata said, nodding furiously. “I bet you’re incredible.”

“Yeah,” said the other girl at the table, inching her chair closer. “You would make an _amazing_ guy onstage. You look really handsome.”

“You do,” Hinata agreed, and then he seemed to realize what he’d said because he turned bright red. “Uh, wait—”

“She’s gorgeous,” Tanaka said with a smirk. “All the girls flock to her after a show.”

Kashima waved a hand airily. “Naturally, they recognize talent.”

“She’s so dashing,” Tanaka said.

“I’ll bet,” murmured the other girl. Tanaka caught her worrying the corner of her mouth with her tongue. She had it bad for Kashima.

Hinata seemed painfully smitten, too. “What’s it like to act, Kashima? What’s your favorite part? Where do you perform? Can we come see a show? Are you performing soon? We’re here for the weekend and—”

“You fall asleep,” Kageyama said.

Hinata glared at him. “Shut up! I wouldn’t sleep through Kashima performing!”

“You sleep through everything. Or you yell during everything. One or the other.”

Hinata smacked Kageyama on the shoulder. “You’re a jerk.” He turned back to Kashima. “I wouldn’t sleep or yell at all, I swear.”

She was watching them with the wide-eyed, fixed-smile expression that people often wore around Kageyama and Hinata interactions. “Um. Yes, I do have a performance tomorrow evening. Ryuu can tell you about it, he saw me last weekend.”

Tanaka crossed his arms and nodded with as much wisdom on his face as he could muster. “She is a mighty awesome prince, though of course I inspired everything manly and cool about—”

Kashima’s giggles drowned him out. “Okay, maybe he can’t tell you about it.”

“I’m not going with you,” Kageyama said to Hinata. “You can take Kenma.”

Hinata leaned against Kageyama’s shoulder to hiss in a very loud whisper, “Don’t say that in front of her! You’re so rude!”

Kashima howled with laughter, sudden and bright and very unexpected. Everyone at the table turned to stare at her.

Wiping tears from her eyes, she said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you just remind me of me and my first boyfriend, oh my god.” And she snorted and started laughing again.

“First boyfriend?” Tanaka asked with a frown. “Were you Kageyama or Hinata in this situation?”

“Oh, Hinata for sure,” she gasped. “He was always working to curb my enthusiasm.”

Kageyama was blushing as he glared furiously at his lap. Hinata smirked at him, still leaning hard against his shoulder. “Hear that, babe? I’m like Kashima.”

“Don’t fucking call me that,” Kageyama growled. “You’re picking up shitty habits from Noya.”

“Noya’s cool,” Hinata said.

“Don’t call me that,” Kageyama repeated.

Hinata sighed and straightened up. “Party pooper.”

Tanaka glanced around for Noya and found him kissing with Asahi with a certain amount of enthusiasm. His table was practically empty now; just one guy very studiously ignoring the sloppy make out session. Daichi and his new wife were taking a turn around the dance floor. Where were Tsukishima and Yamaguchi— He spotted them. “Oh my god,” Tanaka whispered.

Kashima’s gaze bounced from him to where he was looking. She cocked her head to the side. “You didn’t tell me they were dating.”

“Are they, though?” Tanaka said.

“Looks like it,” Kashima said. “The way they’ve got their arms around each other, they should be.”

“Yamaguchi could do so much better,” Hinata sighed.

Kageyama had his phone out and was giving the screen his best evil smile (he didn’t really have another kind). “That fucking asshole is never living this down if I have a say.”

Hinata giggled and checked the screen over Kageyama’s shoulder. “Wow, Yamaguchi looks like he’s gonna pass out from joy.”

“How drunk do you think Tsukishima is, to agree to slow-dance in front of every one?” Tanaka asked. “Like, if you had to guess blood-alcohol levels”

“Astronomical,” Kageyama said.

“Lethal,” Hinata said at the same time.

“He’s a pretty good dancer,” Kashima said. She stood up and yanked on Tanaka’s mohawk. “ _And_ he’s taller than me. I’m gonna see if I can cut in.”

The entire table gaped after her as she clicked off in her very high heels. 

“Holy shit,” Kageyama whispered as she stepped onto the dance floor and gave Tsukishima's shoulder a companionable shake. Tsukishima glanced over at her with a frown but didn't flinch away, which was already mindblowing. But then Kashima suddenly scooped his hand up, pulled his hand to her waist, and took a few neat steps into a waltz. She turned to say something to Yamaguchi, but he was staring at them with the biggest grin plastered on his face. He nodded at whatever Kashima said and stepped away. It was only then, when he was left alone on the dance floor, that he seemed to realize he was now going to have to find something else to do with himself.

“I’m gonna go save Yamaguchi,” Hinata said with a decisive nod. He jogged toward the dance floor, the baggy legs of his suit flapping, and hooked his fingers with Yamaguchi's.

Kageyama stared after him with a frown, though that probably didn't mean anything.. Tanaka clapped Kageyama on the back and sighed in a way that he hoped expressed his solidarity. They were the abandoned boyfriends. Together, they watched their SOs dance.

Kashima was leading. Tsukishima, unsurprisingly, had been unable to say no in the face of her cheerful enthusiasm, and now she and Tsukishima were holding each other stiffly, formally, and elegantly. With her heels, Kashima was almost eye-to-eye with him. They turned around the space with neat, economical movements. Kashima was chatting and Tsukishima was staring at her right ear with a bored expression.

By contrast, Yamaguchi was barely keeping up with Hinata’s off-time steps. He was flushed behind his freckles, wheezing and giggling as Hinata dragged him from one end of the floor to the other. Hinata seemed to be singing in time with the steps, though it was all nonsense sounds. While Kashima and Tsukishima were clean, Hinata and Yamaguchi were energetic.

“Tobio,” said the wedding’s bartender, suddenly way too close to their table.

“What the hell?” Tanaka yelped.

“Kenma, holy shit,” Kageyama said, clutching at his heart. “We need to get you a bell.”

The bartender looked indifferent. “Are you going to dance with Shoyou? He really wanted you to.”

“He’s got Yamaguchi, he’s fine,” Kageyama growled. “As long as he’s dancing with someone, he’s okay.”

“I don’t want him grabbing me because you said no,” the bartender said.

“If he demands it, you know I won’t say no,” Kageyama said. He was glaring at the dance floor with his arms crossed, but his mouth was twitching like he wanted to smile. 

“Yeah, I know,” the bartender said, and dropped his chin on Kageyama’s head.

Tanaka felt like he was going insane. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi dancing (Tsukishima!!!! Dancing!!!!) was one thing, but Kageyama letting someone other than Hinata cozy up to him? “Uhhhh, so Kageyama, you know this guy?”

Kageyama sighed. “Tanaka, this is Kozume Kenma, they go by Kenma because they don’t believe in formality. Kenma, Tanaka Ryuunosuke.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kenma said, extending a hand to Tanaka without removing their chin from the top of Kageyama’s head.

“Uhhhh likewise,” Tanaka said, shaking their hand. “How do you know—”

“Kenma, hi!” Hinata darted up, sweating heavily and towing Kashima by the hand. He pressed a sloppy kiss to Kenma’s cheek and said, “You wanna dance? I bet Suga would let you take off for a song or two!”

“No,” Kenma said, “but thank you, Shoyou. Tobio was feeling up for it, though.”

Hinata punched the air with his free hand. “Yes! Kageyama, come on! Tanaka, you should join us! Tsukishima was a huge weirdo and said he’d rather dance with Yamaguchi than Kashima, even though Kashima is amazing.” He grabbed Kageyama, dropped Kashima’s hand, and dragged Kageyama back the way he’d come. Kageyama had a single chance to look back, betrayal written all over his face, and then he was crouching slightly so Hinata could lead them in an awkward shuffle, spinning them in a tiny circle that moved around in a larger circle and overall just looked like a middle school kind of dance.

“The tall guy and Freckles are for sure dating,” Kashima said in a stage whisper. “I asked and Mister Glasses got all red and told me to fuck off, that’s how I know.”

“Rude!” Tanaka gasped. “He shouldn’t talk to you like that!”

“Yeah,” Kashima said. It was clear she didn’t care, but she pulled and deeply wounded face. “Come dance with me, Ryuu. Help me dance away the pain of one tall blondie’s rejection.”

“I’ll dance with you,” offered their table’s extra guest. She brushed her hair away from her collarbones and smiled.

Kashima opened her mouth, her entire demeanor shifting to something seductive. Tanaka was all set to let them go, but them something happened. A song called “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” started blasting.

“Oh shit,” Tanaka gasped. He stood up and grabbed Kashima’s hands. Her eyes were as wide as his own and she twined their fingers together tightly.

“Ryuu,” she said, and it was a question.

“Fuck yes,” he said, which was the only logical answer he could give.

She stepped out of her shoes and immediately dropped so Tanaka’s eyes were now level with her lips instead of her neck. “Let’s do this.”

They screamed together in unison and ran to turn the dance floor into a mosh pit of two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I ship Kashima with that short director of hers in _Gekkan Shojou Nozai-Kun_. It’s not the exact Kags/Hinata dynamic, but their interaction looks kinda similar in this case.
> 
> Kenma doesn’t introduce themself because they don’t like making waves. Hence why they don’t mention that they’re Hinata’s other significant other. Nobody’s damn business.
> 
> Do yourself a favor, listen to The Darkness’ “I Believe In A Thing Called Love.”


End file.
